‘Neighborhood Market’ would provide groceries, pharmacy

By Eddie Fitzgerald, Sun Journal Staff

Published: Friday, September 27, 2013 at 10:11 PM.

“Our customers tell us they love the supercenters,” he said. “They like to go there for one-stop shopping and get everything they need. But they also may need to make a quick trip to pick up just a few items. With a smaller store they can get in and out quickly. The New Bern Walmart Neighborhood Market fits that need for our customers, and fits in well with our supercenter. It is a very popular format for our company.”

Customers will also be able to use Walmart’s site to store option on the company’s web page at www.walmart.com to order items from the company and have them shipped free to the neighborhood market where they can be picked up, Wertz said.

“For larger items, that would be a big savings for people in the community,” he said.

Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at eddie.fitzgerald@newbernsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.

Walmart’s decision to build a neighborhood market off of Neuse Boulevard in New Bern is part of a trend the company started 25 years ago and is still tweaking.

Bill Wertz, eastern region communications director for Walmart, said the company’s neighborhood markets started in 1988 to provide more convenient shopping in communities.

“They’ve been around a few years, but typically we do a little experimenting, changing things around until we get everything adjusted properly,” Wertz said Friday. “Then we roll them out. The New Bern market is a format we are expanding throughout the nation,”

There are about 300 Walmart Neighborhood Markets nationwide, Wertz said. The New Bern market will be about a quarter of the size of a Walmart “Supercenter” with mostly groceries, a pharmacy and some merchandise, he said.

Chris Capellini, assistant project manager with Bohler Engineering that is preparing the site plan for the Walmart market, said the grocery market would also have a fuel station and drive-through for its pharmacy. The market would be a little less than 42,000 square feet, he said.

“We have not built many in North Carolina so far, just five,” Wertz said. “The format, we think, will be convenient for shoppers in the state. We will be building more in the months ahead.”

The newest Walmart Neighborhood Market opened a month ago in Greensboro.

Walmart is also planning an Express Store in Oriental, which is smaller, about 15,000 square feet, and would not have as broad a selection as neighborhood markets. There are 20 express stores in the state, more than anywhere else in the country, Wertz said.

“They are doing very well,” he said.

Although Wertz said he has heard concerns from people in Oriental about Walmat moving in, he has also heard positive comments from people who want the convenience of the store in the community.

Wertz said there seems to be universal support for a 70,000-square-foot supercenter it is also planning in Grantsboro.

Walmart will seek a special use permit Monday night from the New Bern Board of Adjustment to build the neighborhood market on 7.38 acres off of Neuse Boulevard at 2915 Neuse Blvd. between South Glenburnie Road and Colony Drive owned by James and Rebecca Morton.

We are still working through the permit process and we are not sure how long that will take,” Wertz said. “We hope to open the store next year if possible. It takes about eight or nine months, typically, to build a store that size.”

Wertz said the neighborhood markets and express stores came about because Walmart was always looking for ways to make shopping easier.

“Our customers tell us they love the supercenters,” he said. “They like to go there for one-stop shopping and get everything they need. But they also may need to make a quick trip to pick up just a few items. With a smaller store they can get in and out quickly. The New Bern Walmart Neighborhood Market fits that need for our customers, and fits in well with our supercenter. It is a very popular format for our company.”

Customers will also be able to use Walmart’s site to store option on the company’s web page at www.walmart.com to order items from the company and have them shipped free to the neighborhood market where they can be picked up, Wertz said.

“For larger items, that would be a big savings for people in the community,” he said.

Eddie Fitzgerald can be reached at 252-635-5675 or at eddie.fitzgerald@newbernsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @staffwriter3.